


A Love Among the Stars

by xwynn



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Fluff, M/M, Space Opera, Space themes, a melodramatic kuroo, general good times? yes, hqbb2018
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 01:41:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17013147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xwynn/pseuds/xwynn
Summary: This summer was supposed to be just like every other. A boring summer job, a couple of sleepless nights, and a shit ton of annoying kenma. But when a new boy moves onto the small moon, who’s visiting his family for the summer, Kuroo’s whole entire world gets flipped upside down.





	1. Nebulae

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so uh i haven't written like anything in a real long time and so when i saw hqbang was existing i was like "oh yea thats exactly what i need to get me writing again - DEADLINES." if you're a creator of any kind you know sometimes its better just to do the damn thing whether its good or not. this is one of those occasions. 
> 
> Thank you tremendously to my artist Orchidd for putting up with me and just being super and cool and talented! Their art is absolutely astounding, so please go check it out. [Art can be seen here!](https://0rchiddart.tumblr.com/post/181177084264/second-piece-for-the-haikyuu-bigbang-2018-hqbb)
> 
> Thank you to GG, as always, I literally shoutout this hoe out on like every fic but I mean it every time when I say thank you for listening to me ramble about my stories and about a ship for a show that you haven't even seen, and being a constant inspiration and motivation to me. Love you binch. 
> 
> So I suppose, I'll shut up now, here's my hqbb2018 submission. There's more to come in the future, but here we are for now. Thanks for reading!

The end of the world is a lot less uneventful than what most have made it out to be. Yes, because what most have made out to be the end world consists of a burning hell, planet shattering earthquakes, and disastrous plumes of ash that block the sun out for weeks.

No, the end of the world is a lot less uneventful that what most have made it out to be. Instead it looks a lot more like, dead end jobs in sweltering heat that only moon Liana, which just has to occur in the back left corner of the Ambia system (which everyone _knows_ is the shittiest corner) could produce.

Kuroo insists he got the wrong end of the deal.

Kuroo’s mom insists that he shuts up and fucking deal with it.

And mom’s word is final.

So he’s deals with it. But not without a hefty amount of complaining, because Kuroo knows deep down, within his heart of hearts there is not a single entity within all of the universe that is strong enough to stop him from complaining to the ends of the universe.

So of course, he does.

Its terribly humid day on Liana. The clouds are thick, blanketing the moon’s typically orange sky, with thick sheets of soft pink. On the horizon, Kuroo can see where the clouds start to darken, growing intenser in color, swirling in mass as the clouds prepare their downpour and he scoffs.

He always hated the rain.

Kenma decides then that he thinks he’s had enough of his friend’s pessimism and decides to let him know as such. And so he glares, right at his skinny little head and Kuroo heaves a sigh and rolls his eyes, without even so much as turning around.

  


“Oh c’mon don’t look at me like that Kenma, you know shit sucks.” He speaks into the window, the window pane fogging up with his words.

Kenma shakes his head, but goes back to scrolling on his laptop for whatever new game has caught his attention, but speaks quietly to his friend. “Its really not all that bad Kuro,” he states.

“It doesn’t have to be all bad,” he defends, the clouds swirl aggressively on the horizon, moving quickly and efficiently to cover the land with thick pink and oncoming rain. Tomorrow Kuroo will start his day working a dead end job, building houses and working construction for those who saw Liana as some ‘beautiful vacation haven’ when they spent time away from making big bucks. His last summer wasted away on fruitless work, supposed to be getting ready for the rest of his life that he’s all too confused on what that should entail.

No, Kuroo thinks, it doesn’t have to be all bad.

It’s just bad enough.

* * *

 

The rain continues the next day.

Kuroo works in the rain, sweat mixing with the warm droplets as he drills this, hammers that, shaves down this. Its tedious, mind-numbing work, and Kuroo lets his mind wander as the sound of the construction melts into the steady light downpour of the summer rain.

He thinks about his future. A heavy thought that weighs down above him like the pink clouds above. At the end of the summer he has two options:

Go to college.

or

Work.

Objectively these options are plain and simple to any person about to reach official Adulthood™️. Work or learn. And as a child who has always been gifted in school, so much so that he somehow managed to graduate with salutatorian, college should have been a no brainer.

Smart kid. Good kid. Go to college. Thats always how it’s been. Thats how the story goes.

But Kuroo isn’t quite sure he wants that to be his story. But college isn’t public school. It’s money. It’s years and years of life tied down to a commitment of grueling hours tied down to an increasing debt that he can’t get out of. Because College is not public school. School is a half assed attempt to get out of something that more or less has no serious impact on him. There is no guarantee that he will do well. Sure, his family and past teachers have praised him all his life, told him how smart he is, but college is not public school. If he fails, thats a waste of money.

His worries don’t even begin to cover about _what_ he would even do if he went to college. Kuroo has asked himself, been asked by others what might he want to do, his mind shuts down; grasps as squiggles and of shapes of abstract blanks as he tries to come up with some idea, just tries to imagine what _thing_ in a whole universe of things he wants to listen to and talk about for the rest of his life.

Which leaves him with the option of work.

Not wanting to work makes him sound like a some spoiled rich kid who’s never had to lift a finger a day in his life, but putting in effort is not at all what concerns Kuroo. Without college, Kuroo is forced to go to lifeless, boring job to another, wandering aimlessly through horrible customers and annoying coworkers until he’s in his fifties with nothing left to show but a plaque with his name that says ‘thank you for all your years’ never having done a damned thing in his life.

Kuroo doesn’t want that.

Kuroo doesn’t know what he wants at all.

As he works under the summer rain, seeing this tiny little vactication home come to life under his hands he thinks about highschool. About Kenma, and Yaku, and Kai. He thinks about how easy things were for him then, not really ever having to worry about his next step, his next move, as long as he did was he was told and did it relatively well, he hadn’t had to put any real thought about what came for him in the future.

There were no building blocks in school. Just nail after nail to hit with a hammer in hand and no end in sight.

Kuroo didn’t need to know the end.

Not yet anyway.

At least until the rain stopped pouring.

* * *

 

Working construction is kind of a major pain in the ass. But his mother stops complaining as much to him, and even better, Kenma lets him pick the games they play more often.

It doesn’t make up for everything. But it helps.

And his boss, Bokuto Yuuta is kind enough, a little obnoxious and somewhat self absorbed, but an overall kind hearted soul who treats his workers well and is patient with their work.

He doesn’t make too much of a fuss over people, but he seems to keep over an eye over Kuroo in particular at times, going on about how much he reminds him of his nephew and “blah blah blah”.

The work’s not too bad, alright, he’s grown calluses on his hands for sure, but the work itself isn’t too bad, and Kuroo’s finally grown to understand why all the adults cheer and say its 7pm somewhere.

God fuck, does he love 7 pm.

The sound of the drills end, and the hammer are put down and bossman Yuuta says something relatively about being proud and wishing for another great day of work or some sort but Kuroo doesn’t listen.

The only thing on is his mind is Elysium.

Kuroo shoulders past people as fast as he can, throwing half assed ‘excuse me’s’ over his shoulder in a horrible attempt at being polite.

He shoves himself into a booth, freshly showered after a run back to the house from the construction site, and Yamamoto slides his drink with efficiency, with no more, than a “you better catch up working man” before he chugs the rest of his beer.

Its a nice night for once in Liana. The sun starts its descent over the horizon, it’ll be no more than an hour before the sky turns its regular deep, almost violet - red, like Iava’s during the cold season, but for now it is it’s regular Scarlet like most sunsets. Liana’s twin moon, Chiela, shines bright already, turning the natural light of the sky bright, almost neon into the little bar down below.

Kuroo swipes his drink from the table and downs in one go like his friend before, cheshire like grin spreading easily over his face, and Yaku shakes his head almost immediately.

“Oh god, let’s not bring out _that_ Kuroo,” out again, he pleads, Yaku opts to sip on his drink instead, unlike the rest of those heathens.

Kai, smiles gently, shaking his head softly, remembering last time Kuroo had a little bit too much to drink.

“Oh come on Yaku, you heard Yamamoto, I’m a working man now, out all of you assholes I deserve a drink the most and besides,” Kuroo taps on the glass rim of his cup, smiling secretly to himself, “you never know what’s in store , when Mr -” he shoots a daring look at Yaku who’s just about already had it with Kuroo and he hasn’t even been there for more than five minutes, “Cuddlekins, comes out, do we Yaku,” he teases, and Yamamoto outbursts with laughter, Kai even letting out a good hearty snickers of his own as said Mr.Cuddlekins flushes madly at his friends, and then huffs exaggeratedly cause all but done with those fools.

And that’s how the night goes on, the four of them, teasing, joking, laughing at their own stupid jokes as the night turns redder and redder, the warm summer air a spark to the bar’s general fun loving mood and at some point Kuroo decides to order another round for the table.

He slides away from the booth in their little corner of Elysium and Yamamoto cheers with the delight that only one can have when they’re well on their way to being past tipsy. He shoulders through the crowd once more, moving past dancing bodies and sweaty grins as club goers soak in the energy of the night and claim it for their on as he makes his way to the center.

He shimmies out the crowd and onto a barstool with a lopsided grin that he’s sure wouldn’t have existed without that beer and when he catches his attention he’s quick to call out for a round of ‘Savage Starlight’ and feel satisfied himself when the bartender busies himself with the drinks.

Kuroo then feels a hand on his shoulder, heavy and hot, but before he can look back for its owner, the person steps out from behind him and slides onto the stool right next to him with a warm smile and open eyes.

Kuroo’s never seen this man around before. Liana’s a pretty small moon. Most of its land mass being occupied by dense forests of star scraping trees and lakes that shine the most brilliant emerald green that are so vast and deep, one can only dream of reaching the bottom. There isn’t much to do on Liana.

Kuroo hasn’t met a new person in years that wasn’t already somebody’s cousin.

But this person, this guy, seems so clearly out of place in this environment, and yet so oblivious to it all, like being on a whole new moon or planet or anything doesn’t bother him one bit and he’s just around to enjoy the ride.

The guy throws a quick smile his way, before he calls out for the bartender and orders something of the likes of Sticky Passion, and Kuroo can’t help but be a little immature at the name, snickering under his breath as the bartender returns with Kuroo’s own set of drinks.

“Sticky passion, huh?” Kuroo casually mentions, just because the guy is new around doesn’t mean Kuroo’s gonna ignore him. Besides, it’ll be nice to tease someone new.

The man smiles in kind, teeth showing through his grin, and for a moment he looks a little sheepish before he laughs at himself and turns to Kuroo fully. “Yeah, yeah I know, it sounds kind of, well, like - _that_ , but ya know it gets its name for a reason,” the man then leans in, like he’s about to tell Kuroo a secret reserved only for the two of them, and before Kuroo can ask why, the man decides to tell him anyway, “story is that once you drink this, the world opens up for you and all your deepest desires and passions become apparent forever.” A slow, and purposeful smile creeps along the man’s face then, he’s a little shorter Kuroo, a bit stockier too - more muscle where Kuroo is more lean, but that’s not what catches Kuroo’s eye.

Wide, golden eyes like, stare up at Kuroo, playfulness swirling within them, daring Kuroo to take the bait set out for him and Kuroo does.

Without hesitation.

Kuroo leans back in his seat, an uptick to the corner of his lips, and with a quick shared glance to his new friend he calls the bartender over and asks for a sticky passion. Two of them actually.

“My treat, alright?”

The guy nods quickly, and Kuroo notices the way his shoulders seem to loosen, unnoticeable tension he was holding either easing away at their easy interaction and Kuroo’s glad he can do that for him.

Being on your own is never easy, Kuroo knows from experience.

“Bokuto,” the guy says, “Bokuto Koutarou’s my name y’know.” He has an easy, teasing smile on his face like he knows something Kuroo doesn’t. “Just in case you were wondering who you just bought a drink for.”

He wasn’t wondering. But getting a name is always nice.

“Well then, Bokuto,” he says, and he belatedly wonders if maybe this new guy has anything to do with his boss, but decides not to ask in worries he’ll ruin the casualness, “The guy who just bought you a drink is Kuroo - Kuroo Tetsurou - y’know; just in case you were wondering,” he mimics, just as the bartender slides them two orangey looking drinks that bubble and sizzle in its own little environment.

The drink smells like flowers almost, sickly sweet if you get too close but pleasant from afar, it smells like hikes through Liana’s forests, like dense vegetation that has become so familiar to him that he can’t quite describe the smell outside of, _Liana_.

Bokuto notices the way Kuroo seems to inspect the liquid before drinking it and snickers under his breath. “It’s pretty good actually, somebody told me it was native to the area but I wouldn’t know,” Bokuto swirls his glass a little, and Kuroo can’t help but notice how his voice that was just so happy and upbeat before sounded a little downtrodden. But before Kuroo can even begin to question it, Bokuto downs his drink in one gulp, the look on his face replaced with that wide grin that seems to be so characteristic of him already and looks at Kuroo expectantly.

Liana doesn’t get a lot of people. Especially a lot of new people worth mentioning. But Kuroo decides then, as he swallows back his drink, the sweetness of it all sticking to his tongue, that this guy just might be worth a word of two.

His wrist buzzes then, and Kuroo suddenly remembers he has a whole group of people waiting on him and a whole round of drinks to deliver. He looks at his wrist, the little transparent screen connected to the thin black wristband blowing up and finds a very confused and vaguely angry text that looks like a signature Yaku and Yamamoto collaboration.

_‘thOUGht u left so WE did TWO_

_Kai thinks ur a piece of shit haha’_

Well, at least he doesn’t have to worry about ditching them anymore.

“Friends?” Bokuto asks innocently.

Kuroo decides to slide one of the Savage Starlight’s his way, not wanting the drinks to go to waste, and closes the screen down again. “Yeah, but they ditched me,” he says, Kuroo thinks he should feel somewhat guilty about leaving them, but somehow he doesn’t, “I guess it’s just you and me pal.”

Bokuto smiles brightly at that and Kuroo can’t help but to offer up a smile of his own.

“I guess it is,” he replies, smoothly, he takes a hesitant sip of his new drink, and then a bigger one, “so tell me Kuroo, there's gotta be something juicy going on this little moon of yours.”

Kuroo scoffs at the mention of Liana being _his_. He has lived on this moon all his life and Kuroo say with no amount of exaggeration that the only thing interesting about the moon is the fact that it's attached to a planet with such giant cities that one could never run out of things to do.

Kuroo doesn’t know why anyone would willingly choose to live on Liana. It is small. It is insignificant. And it is boring. The real question is what Bokuto is doing on this shitshow of a cosmic body.

So he asks.

And Bokuto tells.

Details something about parents, and needing an escape, and wanting to explore the galaxy, about his home planet somewhere far away from Liana where he races ships in his spare time and does as much planet hopping as his body will allow and Kuroo takes it all in; wonders how and why the hell Liana would be his choice of adventure.

But he doesn’t ask. As much as Kuroo would like to know, he knows it's better not to pry. If he’s lucky, he’ll meet Bokuto again and maybe, get to go planet hopping himself.

The night sky has reached its peak, so red and dark, and the club goers of Elysium start to filter out as the night drags on.

Usually Kuroo doesn’t even stay out this late, but something about Bokuto keeps him entranced, makes him wanna stick around as long as he can until the club owners start verbally shooing people out and the pair find themselves outside Elysium’s walls.

Bokuto has an arm around Kuroo’s shoulders, laughing heartily at something or another, Kuroo isn’t quite sure anymore, just knows he’s laughing with him. They’ve both had a good amount of drinks, but it doesn’t feel right to pin their seemingly instant bond on something so trivial. He just hopes that Bokuto feels the same way.

“I’ll text you,” Bokuto says, tapping his own thin wristband and Kuroo hopes that the look on his face doesn’t make him look too excited about it.

“Yeah, I’ll text you too,” Kuroo says lamely.

Liana doesn’t get a lot of interesting people. It’s small. It’s insignificant. And it's boring. But Bokuto waves goodbye to him so enthusiastically and Kuroo isn’t one to wax poetic, but he thinks this could be the start of something exciting.


	2. Just one Massive Star after Another

Kuroo doesn’t hear from Bokuto for a whole week.

He tries to keep his spirits up, tried to resist to whine and rant to Kenma about this new and amazing guy that has a smile so blindingly beautiful that it could put all the electric companies out of business. He tries not to let his thoughts run on loop about the guy with the dazzling eyes that share secrets all of its own and a pair of arms that make Kuroo both jealous and a little dizzy.

He tries.

Oh does he try.

But well...it's hard, when there's a guy that literally just pops in and out of your life, into the mist of the night never to be seen or heard again like everyone’s favorite cryptid.

Kuroo doesn’t know how to describe it, desperately wish he could the way he searches his brain for the words to explain the enigma that just is Bokuto Koutarou. Maybe everything he knows about Bokuto is a lie, a fraudulent but excellently crafted presentation, and Kuroo should just let it go.

But, fuck. Truth be told, he _really_ doesn’t want to.

Kuroo fiddles at the little cube shaped gadget in his hands. It’s his day off today. So obviously he spends the day with Kenma.

He presses an indented button on the right side of the cube, and the gadget expands out, revealing six different platforms, all connected by lines of the strongest wire, about a centimeter in width. It’s a simple little gadget, something Kuroo bought with one of his first paychecks, thought it was interesting when he passed by it in a shop window, an impulse buy almost.

The gadget advertised as the Controller™ is supposed to be the cure to boredom and frustration, each platform curing its owner of their most easiest problem with data collected from the owner’s watch in six different ways.

Kuroo turns the expanded cube in his hand. He doesn’t really believe in shit like that. But it doesn’t hurt to give it a try.

Kenma is focused on some magazine, wrist buzzing with a notification before his friend types out a quick reply, before going back to his magazine. It’s a nerdy magazine, but Kenma enjoys it, and Kuroo tries his best not to tease his friend too much about it.

Kuroo sighs, and tosses the cube onto the bed. He sees Kenma raises an eyebrow, but his friend doesn’t speak.

So Kuroo huffs again.

And again.

And again.

Until Kenma, shuts his magazine close with a large _floop_ and glares daggers right at Kuroo’s head.

“May I help you Kuro,’ he drawls, and if Kuroo was clueless he’d stop right there and not say another word the way Kenma’s face definitely spoke of murder but instead he chugged right along.

“I’m bored!” Kuroo throws his hands up exasperated. His day off to relax and have fun and he’s....bored? Oh the cruel irony of it all.

Kenma flips open his magazine again, goes right back to the page he was previously on before Kuroo started to get all whiny and needy on him. “If you’re bored then why don’t you...oh I don’t know….do something?”

Kuroo glances at his wrist, hoping to see a notification that wasn’t already previously there. Hoping that someone would text. Like they said they would. Kuroo gazes out the window for a second, making sure to be the melodramatic person who he always truly was inside, before he heaves a sigh and Kenma rolls his eyes because _seriously, man?_

Kenma looks up for a bit, and with real genuine effort, asks Kuroo if there is something he would like to talk about.

And again, Kuroo would really like to try and not think about Bokuto so much and not have him running through his thoughts so rampantly but considering all the reasons why it's so hard to stop that, Kuroo decides maybe he should just give up and succumb to it.

After all, if you can’t beat em, join em right?

Kuroo swings his legs off the bed and onto the floor and gives Kenma a small little smile, a telltale sign to his friend that whatever is about to come out of his mouth is gonna be a whirlwind and he is truly and really sorry about that but he asked for this.

“Okay so you know last weekend I went to Elysium with the gang right?” Kuroo starts. Kenma simply nods, prompting Kuroo to go on. “Okay so I’m chilling with the guys right, we’re having drinks ya know, and I’m feeling good so I go the bar to order drinks for everyone cause ya know...I’m the man around here,” Kuroo says with an exaggerated and very annoying grin and Kenma takes that time to try and understand once more why he got stuck with this dramatic asshole.

“But Kenma, you’d never fucking guess who’s at the bar?”

Kuroo’s has this real starstruck look in his eye and Kenma is actually intrigued for once, so he takes the bait and bites. “It was…?”

Kuroo throws his hands in the air and flops back onto the bed, “That’s the thing Kenma. I’m not even sure who he was. I mean I know his name, like he told me that, but fuck man, I’ve never met someone so mysterious and not like in a bad teen movie mysterious way where the guy is like part of the underworld or something but good mysterious? Like I wanna know everything there is ever to possibly know about a person mysterious? You know what I’m talking about?”

“Captivating? Fascinating? Riveting? I don’t know...utterly and completely but pleasantly stupefying possibly?” Kenma offers, equal parts disappointed that it was not some really cool celebrity but hilariously interested in his friend’s new interests.

Kuroo heaves an oddly blissful sounding sigh and Kenma’s face scrunches up in disgust almost immediately.

“Dude..it’s just - I mean - no offense to you and the gang, but I’ve never met someone like him before I just can’t get him off my mind.”

“Is that necessarily a bad thing then?” Kenma prompts, flipping a page in his magazine. (He can multitask, okay.)

“No its not a bad thing, its just that,” Kuroo stares holes into the ceiling. He just that he wished he could be spending his off day with this super interesting guy who all but vanished with that bright unforgettable smile. It’s just that Kuroo really, really, _really_ , wish he fucking texted back. Kuroo heaves one more sigh, closing his eyes, and resigning himself to his fate.

“I don’t know Kenma, I just hope that maybe, he finds me as interesting as I found him.”

* * *

 

Kuroo manages to not spend the rest of his next two off days thinking about Bokuto. At first, it's kind of hard. It’s like his dumb brain wants to do nothing but think about him. Think about what he’s doing. Or where he’s at. Or is that really the first and last Kuroo is ever going to see of this guy. Or maybe, why in the hell did he not text like he said he was?

He tries hard not to focus on things like that. Doesn’t want to get caught up in a negative tailspin of what ifs and why nots so he keeps himself occupied. Kuroo helps around the house with his mom a bit more, he’s never been averse to a bit of house work, but with the job he’s gotten kind of lazy about keeping up things, and besides - Bokuto or no Bokuto, Kuroo is sure his mom appreciates the extra help and that’s always a good thing.

And he sure does keep Kenma occupied. Kuroo gets to come over and get his thoughts off Bokuto whenever under the one condition that he doesn’t get all melodramatic again and start staring out of windows like he’s in a music video.

(Kuroo doesn’t make any promises but he tries his best.)

By the time Kuroo’s back off to work, his thoughts are more or less cleared of the man. An occasional spare thought here and there, but Kuroo thinks such thinking is justified and actually looks forward to be doing something mindless and numbing for once.

The work week starts off as any day in Liana.

The heat is sweltering and the humidity is unbearable. The skies are clear, soft orange blanketing the construction site as Kuroo hammers away.

The houses his boss makes him build are grand, with elaborate designs, with big wide windows and secret little hiding spaces.

It’d be nice to live in a house like that one day. One specifically designed for him. Kuroo wonders what it would look like.

He wouldn’t want anything too big though. Nothing like the ones he works on all day on building, no, Kuroo wants something personal, comfortable. Built to live in forever instead of some stuffy vacation home to show off to those who wish they could afford.

Kuroo daydreams about comfy kitchens, and wide open living rooms so everyone could enjoy. He thinks of little nooks and windowsills, ones to crawl up on when the day is gloomy and all one wants to do is fall asleep to the steady drum of the rain. He dreams of skylights, a window so wide in the ceiling he could see the stars so clearly on any given night. Could see the cruisers racing by, those who were brave enough to live out their lives without fear, doing whatever they pleased, wherever they pleased, the only responsibility to themselves - to do what makes them happy.

Kuroo thinks of Bokuto.

He knows he shouldn’t but he simply can’t help himself. The imagery of Bokuto flying among the stars to places Kuroo hasn’t even ever heard of stuck on loop in his mind like an old piece of machinery. The smile that crossed his face when he told of his adventures had Kuroo in awe, wanted to live in those experiences, so maybe he too would be the cool interesting guy who stops by on small moons.

Kuroo knows he shouldn’t think about him.

But he just can’t help himself.

Bokuto is like freedom manifest. And bless the stars, did Kuroo want a taste of that. Wanted so desperately to know what the hell that feels like.

Kuroo knows he shouldn’t be thinking about such things. Should probably leave such things alone. Because Kuroo isn’t Bokuto and he doesn’t have ships to fly and endless options at his fingertips.

He has two options.

College or work.

Kuroo hammers a bit harder, pure muscle driving the nail in.

College or work. Those were his two options.

That's it. That's all there ever was.

But that never stopped him from wishing there was more anyway.

* * *

 

Kuroo doesn’t think about Bokuto for the rest of the week. Nor does he hear back from them, but Kuroo’s gave up on that hope the first day he never reached out.

The heat in Liana doesn’t let up. The clouds have grown thick by the end of the work week, but they do not pour, not yet. The material under Kuroo’s hands are now tinted a soft but strong pink from the mass of clouds above.

His mother says that the rainy season is probably about to start soon.

Kuroo just works even harder.

His boss commends him on his work endlessly because of it.

Bokuto Yuuta is a kind man and at times Kuroo feels like the man has adopted him without his knowledge, and Kuroo’s not quite sure what to do when his boss calls him in on his break, all wide smiles and comforting claps on the shoulder like the two have been kin all along.

“You, uh, wanted to see me, sir,” Kuroo asks, slowly sitting in the chair across from his boss’s own.

Kuroo’s never been in the headquarters site before. It’s not large at all, quite cramped actually, but it has just enough room to fit two extra chairs, a fan, and a small and incredibly old hologram tv with just about the worst quality picture Kuroo’s ever seen.

There's trinkets on the wall behind the desk. A few photographs that are too far away for Kuroo to discern any faces, a few statues look to be won in a game of resosurfing.

There's even a little mug on the desk that says #1 uncle on it.

Yeah, Bokuto Yuuta is a good man, but that doesn’t mean Kuroo has any fucking clue why his boss wants to see him all of a sudden.

His boss hikes up his pant legs, takes a seat, and then beams a smile at Kuroo that reminds him of something he can't quite place.

“Kuroo, you’re an excellent young lad, ya know? You’re hardworking and focused and I like that about you, always good to have a youngin around to remind us old folks not to get so grumpy and cranky all the time,” Yuuta laughs at his own joke, and Kuroo politely chuckles with him. “Anyway, you’re a great addition to the team and well… I was wondering if you could do a little favor for me?”

Now, Kuroo doesn’t think he watches too many movies. But if your boss at a construction site asks for a favor that can only mean one or two things.

1) Said boss is secretly starring in a porno and trying to recruit you

Or

2) Said boss is part of some gang, has a hit out on somebody, and wants you to finish the job.

And well, to be quite frank, Kuroo doesn’t really think he’s up for either of those things.

So he smiles sweetly and says, “Of course, what do you need me to do?”

His boss leans back in his chair, and Kuroo immediately prays to whatever being is out there that he’s not going to reach into his desk and take out something wildly fucking inappropriate for the situation.

“Great!” Yuuta claps his hands together and Kuroo takes a quick breath of relief, “ okay so you know I have nephew right?” He says, holding up the mug with pride, "well my nephew is new to town for the summer and well, I don’t wanna give out too many details but the kid needs to be kept occupied ya know? Needs something to keep him focused like you are, so I was wondering, if you could show him around for a couple days? Ya know, help out him on his first few days on the job and help him get acclimated to Liana all that. Does that sound alright with you Kuroo?”

Kuroo doesn’t think twice about saying yes, but not because of some premeditated reason.

There's simply no other reason for saying no and besides, if he said no his boss probably wouldn’t treat him as nicely and that's the last fucking thing he needs right now.

Bokuto Yuuta reaches his hand out enthusiastically at Kuroo’s agreement and takes his hand in a very aggressive but friendly handshake.

Show the boss’s nephew around. Get a few extra brownie points for simply being nice and decent.

This is going to be way too fucking easy.

* * *

 

Turns out, shit was going to be way fucking harder than Kuroo thought.

Like _way_ fucking harder than shit was necessary.

Kuroo hasn’t even met the boss’s nephew yet and everything was already a nightmare.

Apparently, the kid comes from some rich family or whatever. Kuroo doesn’t know. He wasn't really paying attention. Just knows there no damn reason why he’s spending hours on the phone ordering exotic alien fruits when his real job is….wait for it...construction!

Yuuta had Kuroo practically running ragged at the amount of things his nephew may so happen to need. Like geez, Kuroo doesn’t know about other people his age, but all he really needs is a month supply of noodles, juice, and something to keep him from literally walking into the forest alone at night out of sheer boredom; so hard could it be just to keep this kid happy?

“Dude,” Yaku says, biting into a burger full of sloppy yellow meat and fresh flowers, “you should prank the kid. He sounds terrible and there's literally nothing better to let a person know they’re not at all as great as they think they are with good ole fashioned stranded in the middle of Hingpids Lake prank.”

Yamamoto snorts, all but delighted with the idea, “Kuroo man, no joke, I don’t want you to get fired or anything but if you need a man for the job, _well,”_ he says bouncing his shoulders up and down and awful version of what is supposed to be a seductive look.

“Look guys,” Kuroo says, stuffing a few fries into his face for good measure, he loves when they all get together for lunch, “I wish I could prank this kid as much you all do but I can’t lose my job. My mom would kill me and not to be a depressive whore, but uh...to be quite honest I don’t really have anything good going for me right now so I kind of need this job y’know?”

Kai shakes his head, and Kuroo readies himself to hear a classic scolding from the group’s moral upkeeper. “I think, regardless of what you do, you can’t let this kid or your boss take advantage of you. Job or not.”

Yamamoto slams down his drink with a loud “AYOOOOOOO” and Yaku slaps his hand on the table and promptly starts choking on his burger.

Kuroo shakes his head the table as Kai pats Yaku on the back, somehow doing more harm than good. (Seriously, the man has no true concept of his own strength.)

But Kai was right. If his boss is already running him ragged with a nephew that hadn’t even arrived yet, then maybe it was a sign that going to work wasn't the right path for him. But is it quite fair to base your life off of one bad experience?

Kuroo shoved more fries in his face. He didn’t want to think about it anymore. The kid was coming tomorrow, and Kuroo would have to be ready for whatever that entails.

For now, he guesses, he’ll just take it easy and watch his friends choke on food.


End file.
